For a retired guy, Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason is having a quality season. And the Broncos know if Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco can consistently get the ball to Mason on Sunday, the Denver defense is going to have a problem.

Mason, who had announced his retirement in the offseason before the team coaxed him back, leads the Ravens in receiving touchdowns (three) and receiving yards (381) and is second in catches (26).

"(He) puts up big numbers every year," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. "When he retired this year, you see the lengths they went to to get him back, so obviously he means a lot to that team. He doesn't ask for the attention, but he's constantly productive."

Mason is in his 13th season and has seven 1,000-yard receiving seasons. That's a long way from once being a fourth-round draft pick stuck behind the likes of an aging Yancey Thigpen and a fading Carl Pickens on the Titans' roster.

"He has a great combination of speed and quickness and experience," Broncos secondary coach Ed Donatell said. "This guy has really developed routes. He's got a lot of sameness to his route running. He's got great posture, doesn't tip his routes."

Flacco has attempted more passes to Mason than any other Ravens receiver this season. Mason also often lines up in the slot, which means he will be going at the Broncos' youngest defensive backs at times in Jack Williams or rookie Alphonso Smith.

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The hand of fate.

Save for a bout of patience, the Broncos might be facing a team coached by Josh McDaniels on Sunday.

The Ravens contacted McDaniels, then 31, after the 2007 season, when the Patriots' offense set a list of offensive records in an undefeated regular season. But McDaniels declined to be interviewed, believing the time wasn't right for him to be a head coach, and the Ravens hired John Harbaugh.

Harbaugh directed the Ravens to the AFC championship game last season, his first as a head coach. McDaniels was asked this week why he didn't interview for the Ravens job.

"First off, I really appreciated the opportunity, but there were two reasons why it wasn't the right time for me," McDaniels said during a conference call for Baltimore-area media. "One, the season we were involved in required a lot of our time. We were all putting a lot into it, trying to finish it the way we wanted to. And secondly, I just didn't feel like I was as ready as I wanted to be to handle that type of challenge. I didn't know at the time how much more time I was going to need to feel like I was capable of doing it, but certainly I didn't feel like that was the perfect time for me."

Bailey honored.

For the second consecutive season Bailey was selected as the Broncos player to be considered for the NFL's Walter Payton man of the year award.

The award, which recognizes a player's on-field abilities as well as his contributions in the community, is given during Super Bowl week. It is the second consecutive season Bailey was selected as the Broncos' representative.

"It's a great honor," Bailey said. "It's one of the things I pride myself in — to give back."

John Elway is the only Broncos player to have ever received the award — in 1992.

Footnotes.

Because of the weather the Broncos again took their practice inside to the nearby South Suburban Sports complex, going for a little more than two hours. All players on the 53-man roster were in uniform and participated at least some. Nose tackle Ronald Fields, who sat out Wednesday's practice with a hamstring injury, took part in Thursday's workout on a limited basis. Safety Brian Dawkins (hamstring) also took part on a limited basis. Defensive lineman Everette Pedescleaux, one of eight practice squad players, was not on the practice field Thursday. Practice squad players are not listed on a team's injury report so it is not known if the rookie is injured. Jeff Legwold, The Denver Post

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